Tag Archives: Education

Okay I know; I am gushing! But I have been waiting for weeks, for the newest version of Trust Agents and The Impact Equation and they arrived together just in time for my birthday. Happy Happy Happy Birthday to Ms. Annie Sells!

I owe about 100 thank you’s to all the friends and family that reached out to make me feel loved and appreciated on the celebration of my birth. I owe the biggest thank you, to Chris and Z who made it clear that they love me without measure and wanted me to know it on my special day. But I owe a big thank you to these authors for rekindling a spark in me!

I have spent time “on-line” forever and was one of the first people I know to do AOL, to get a Yahoo account, I was on MyLife way before it was MyLife and I still slink around MeetMe which of course used to be My Yearbook. I remember when chat rooms were thought to never take on. Of course I have seen many more come and go. I miss Threadsy. 😦

I have advocated for online learning for over a decade and every degree and certification that trails my name was earned online. I respect and love higher education, but firmly believe that if colleges and universities don’t come a lot further very quickly, toward embracing distance and online learning that future generations will suffer.

However, I did not need to tell you any of this, because it is all out here on the world wide web for your viewing pleasure. Do a search for “Ms. Annie Sells” and you will find a lot, but do another search for “Ms. Annie Sells, social media” or “Ms. Annie Sells, Fort Smith” and you would be entertained for a while

I have tripped my way through a lot of trial and error just like Trust Agents and Thought Leaders. We are the guinea pigs that are testing everything and putting ourselves on the line, so that we can learn for ourselves and teach as many of our friends and colleagues who are willing and interested in learning. Trust me, if you take this route you will not need a resume’ or CV either.

A respected colleague posted a full analysis of their Facebook activity to their news feed and I could not resist checking it out. I was redirected to Zeebly and accessed Social Me. After more than five years in online marketing and social media advancement this was new to me. Okay … I have been busy. So sue me.

The next step was to allow them access to my Facebook page. They said I use Facebook a ton. Big surprise there.

According to their analysis 83% of my posts come from Facebook (of course with the assistance of many apps) and 7% come from Android. (This is about to change folks, as I just ordered my first tablet computer today). Rumor has it that the average person posts from Facebook 58% of the time. I talk the most about Social Media, Community, and Business and am ambitious and spontaneous. They examined my statuses, looked in depth at my speech, my likes, my post times, my friends, and much more to figure out my online personality.

Of my 1,200 plus posts they are usually about education, general questions, culture, love, excitement, my day, humor and happiness. The personality traits that they attribute to me are extroverted, confident, compassionate, spontaneous, traditional, spiritual, ambitious and optimistic. They say that I have published more words than the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which has a total of 36,363 words. Too bad they only looked at Facebook, if they ran the same analysis of all my social media channels, then I am sure that I have published what amounts to many books.

My most popular status thus far is:

“To every single one of you who are on my friends list – – I enjoy catching up, looking at pics, hearing about you and your family, sharing jokes and news, along with getting and sometimes giving…”

Ironically this sums up my philosophy. We all have an online presence. Whether we are aware of it and manage it is our choice – this goes for individuals, organizations and businesses alike. This motivated lady took it upon herself to brand herself and to learn how to teach others to do the same. This assessment of one of my platforms shows that my efforts have not been in vain.

It is amazing how when you feel safe, secure, warm and loved that you can drop your guard and can sleep just about anywhere. Children teach us so many lessons, perhaps more than we teach them. That is a principle that I know to be true in most situations.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our personal lives and roles that it is easy to forget that we are all just people. No matter our age, race, socioeconomic status, education, road traveled or lifestyle. We are all part of a living ever changing world, trying to find our place in it.

What reminds you of this, to help keep you centered and engaged in the now? The coming and going of the seasons always reminds me of the cycles of life and my place in it. On this the coolest day thus far in two seasons, on the road with a precious package of life, and on a road trip to a family member’s birthday party, I realize that thanks to a friend’s offhand comments I am already thinking about Christmas cards. I am reminded.

Paragould, AR: Entrepreneurs, economic development leaders, and entrepreneurship educators from across the state of Arkansas will have the opportunity to hear from experts at a two day conference on April 7th and 8th, 2011.

This two-day entrepreneurship conference features Sherese Duncan, President and CEO of Effició Inc., an accomplished entrepreneur who received a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University and her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. She is involved in a variety of industry-related organizations including becoming a SCORE Counselor in 2006, implementing Training Programs for Community Colleges and Universities, and is active in various associations, groups, and trade organizations. Duncan’s signature company programs include SWIFT™, GROWTH™, and the proven system Getting to the CORE of Business®, which provides the tools small businesses need to create perpetual profitable businesses. Duncan will present a sampling of Effició Inc.’s modular Non-Credit or For-Credit curriculum in an effort to allow colleges, chambers of commerce, and area economic development leaders to consider offering the program(s) to local small businesses ready to take their business to the next level.

The registration fee for this two day event is $60.00 and includes donuts, fruit and coffee for breakfast, beverages, with hot buffet lunches both days and many networking opportunities. Registration for this event is required by March 25th , 2011 . Please email annie.aatyc@cox-internet.com for a registration form. For more information please call (479) 424-0071.

Chris Brogan posted a blog about his reflections on September 11th and how it affected him. His readers had a lot of comments on his personal opinion. Some folks did not smile upon his personal opinion and made it out like he was being selfish for sharing his personal experience.

September 11, 2001 changed my life forever. I was not “there.” I did not loose any close family members as a result of the day. However, I lost faith in many things and changed my life perspective entirely!

I was in Berea, Kentucky where I was then attending college on a $75,000 scholarship. I was in a Social Economics course (I was a sociology major) and we were focusing on consumerism. The television was playing in the next room and we HEARD the airplane hit the world trade center. Everyone in my class got up and ran to the television in shock. Our instructor had the nerve to say that there was nothing we could do about it, so we should return to our studies. We tried, but it was ineffective at best.

After classes were out for the day, I had to go to work in Richmond, Kentucky at the local Applebee’s as the fry cook. I remember walking into work and Bin Laden‘s picture was on every television screen, even though they were on different channels.

The following day on Berea College campus I remember sitting under a century-old-tree and writing in my journal about how everyone at school was going through the motions, but no one was present.

I was 715 miles away from home, without money or transportation and only wanted to be at home with those I loved. Uncertainly and lack of any security resonated through every fiber of my being and my life and I was not the only one, but we were all alone. Everyone to some degree felt as I did, but no one panicked. We were awakened nightly in our residential halls to fellow student’s having nightmares. The news was always on and everyone seemed to be waiting for salvation, yet it didn’t come.

My mother begged me to drop out of school and return home. But the sense of urgency that I felt and feeling that the life and place I was in, was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the need to stay and honor my commitments ruled.

Systematically I began to fall apart. It only took from September 11th until February 1st for everything I lived, believed and thought to completely fall apart and fall away. During that time I took a stress test and the results were over 700! Needless to say by the end of winter term, I withdrew and returned to Arkansas to lick my wounds and put myself back together. When I tried to return to school, they would not consider me for re-admittance.

I moved back home and stayed with my mother for about 6 weeks and then moved to Fort Smith, AR, rented my own place and proceeded to start over from scratch. It took me three years to pay off Berea College to get my transcripts released so that I could go back to school. By then I was married, a wife and a mother.

It took 8 years, but I did what it took to finish both an associates and bachelors degree. Do I sometimes still wish that I had been able to stay at Berea College and graduated in 4 years with a bachelors degree? Yes.

But 9/11 showed me in a very real way that my wish was not what was important. Being the creme-de-la-creme of Berea College in Berea, KY was nothing compared to living an authentic life and surrounding myself with my friends, family and the people I love.

There is always more than one way to shoot for the stars and to achieve success. My life-long I have believed that success is the fulfillment of God-given potential. 9/11 taught me that only God knew how I would be successful.

Respectfully,

Annie Sells

** Please note that this article in no way reflects my personal opinions on the cause of September 11th, only that such an incident forever changed life in my country forever.